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HARLINGEN — Residents began heading for the polls Monday in one of the city’s most hotly contested runoff elections in years to decide two city commission races that could shift the board’s balance of power.
Voters are casting early ballots at City Hall, the Cultural Arts Center and the Cameron County annex building through June 10 for the June 14 runoff.
“We’ve seen a steady stream at all the Harlingen locations,” Remi Garza, the county’s elections administrator, said Tuesday.
District 1
In the race for the commission’s District 1 seat, Commissioner Richard Uribe, running for a third term, faces Ford Kinsley, a retired Marine Corps sergeant major serving as the Marine Military Academy’s alumni relations director.
In the May 7 election, the first contest under the city commission’s new single-member district boundaries redrawn based on demographics such as income level, Kinsley came out as the top vote-getter with 451 votes while Uribe, a restaurant owner, drew 432 votes.
Meanwhile, J.J. Gonzalez, a real estate broker who served on the commission from 2000 to 2006, fell short of the runoff with 374 votes.
Gonzalez, who has said Uribe and Kinsley have called asking for his support, could not be reached Tuesday to comment on whether he’s decided to back a candidate.
District 2
In the race for District’s 2 seat, Daniel Lopez, an attorney who serves as the Cameron County Commissioners Court’s litigation counsel, faces Ernesto Cisneros, a retired U.S. Border Patrol agent.
In May 7’s four-man scramble, Lopez became the contest’s front-runner, winning 345 votes while Cisneros drew 225 votes.
Meanwhile, Nick Consiglio, a bank marketing director who serves as chairman of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, fell short of the runoff with 218 votes, while Commissioner Frank Puente, a roofing contractor, lost his bid for a second term, picking up 101 votes.
